The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) might as well be abolished in Metro Manila and the task of putting out fires assigned to civilian fire volunteers.
The glaring ineptitude of government firefighters was shown yesterday when Chinoy fire volunteers arrived at the fire at Quezon City Hall fire ahead of BFP firemen.
That was not the first time Chinoy volunteers beat their government counterparts to the fire scene. It was the nth time.
In the very few times that government firemen got to the scene ahead of the volunteers, their stations were just a stone’s throw away from the scene.
But even then, the Chinoy firemen got to the fire scenes a few minutes after government firefighters. And they had to negotiate heavy traffic and start from Manila’s Chinatown.
If we have inutile BFP firemen, that’s because our government, particularly the current one, is hopelessly useless.
* * *
So, what do we do with government firemen who will be displaced if the BFP were abolished in Metro Manila?
Oh, they could be reassigned to provinces and cities where there are no Chinoy volunteers.
Or if they couldn’t be removed from the metropolis, they could play second fiddle to Chinoy volunteers who are mostly honest and don’t loot houses on fire.
Chinoy volunteers don’t ask for money from owners of houses or business establishments on fire; most government firefighters do.
Source:www.inquirer.net
May 06, 2009
On Target by Ramon Tulfo

Thumbs up to Chinoy fire volunteers Thumbs down to BFP